Posted on 2/04/126 by Bob Magee
NXT is on the air in front of a live studio audience on a
sound stage at the Performance Center in Orlando.
The show begins with Shawn Michaels making Robert Stone the
new interim general manager of NXT. Stone enters the office
formerly belonging to Ava, as HBK wanted to see him. HBK
remarked how Stone always does whatever is asked of him, and
Stone replied he did it because he loves NXT.
Michaels then informs Stone he is the interim GM. Michaels
says he knows this place can be crazy, but he likes it like
crazy. With that, HBK wished Stone luck before leaving the
office set.
No mention of Ava.
After the skit, a video package hypes the men’s championship
ladder match later on. Opening the show from the sound stage
is a triple threat match for the NXT Women’s North American
Championship. On commentary, Vic Joseph noted is the first
time this particular version of the North American title is
ever being defended in a triple threat.
Izzi Dame (with The Culling) vs. Thea Hail vs. Lola Vice in
a triple threat match for the NXT Women’s North American
Championship
—
The title bout goes through a commercial break. Thea Hail
and Lola Vice shine before the show cuts to commercials,
with Hail first jumping off the ring steps with a flying
head scissors on Shawn Spears at ringside. Hail ducks a kick
from Dame, and Vice leaps off the ring apron with a meteora
on Vice. Hail circles back to drop Vice with a tope suicida.
The title belt is on a pedestal at ringside, and Hail runs
over to bite the title belt as the show heads into the
break.
The show returns from the break with combo where Dame has
Vice on her shoulders as Hail leaps off the ropes with a
neckbreaker on Vice as Dame falls back like a Samoan drop.
Vice then fires up with a series of kicks and hip attacks.
More tandem spots, leading to several near falls.
Hail with another rally as she shakes the ropes like
Ultimate Warrior before springboarding off the middle rope
into the waiting arms of Vice, who catches Hail in sleeper
hold. Dame breaks up the hold and they fight on. Hail went
for a Kimura lock a moment later, but Vice escapes and is
able to again apply a sleeper. Dame breaks up the sleeper,
only to take a DDT from Hail.
Kelani Jordan suddenly ran down to ringside and attacked
Vice. Jordan pulls a ladder partially out from underneath
the ring, and Jordan uses the ladder to smash Vice’s right
hand. Vice sells big as referees pour out to eject Jordan
from ringside.
Meanwhile in the ring, Hail as Dame locked in a Kimura. Dame
escapes the submission hold, and Dame with a gutwrench Liger
bomb on Hail. Dame then pins Hail for a three count. Good
opener in a match that appeared very choreographed at times.
And still…
Match result: NXT Women’s North American Champion Izzi Dame
defeated Thea Hail and Lola Vice in a triple threat match to
retain her title.
— In a locker room skit, Zaria was upset at Sol Ruca for not
telling her about being in the Royal Rumble. Ruca wants to
tell Zaria everything, but Ruca was told not to say
anything. Zaria is understandable, and she switched focus to
their upcoming title bout.
— As the show heads into a commercial break, Tony D’Angelo
is headed to the ring for a monologue.
— Back from commercial for a skit that sets up a tag team
match for later on. Chase U’s Uriah Connors & Kale Dixon are
confronted by Lexis King & Stacks, along with Arianna Grace,
and a match is made for tonight.
Tony D’Angelo explains his actions
—
Tony D’Angelo is in the ring to “clear the ring” after seven
months of him talking to the audience. The studio audience
starts chanting for him before D’Angelo briefly runs down
his history in NXT. He had family, friend and people that
had his back — but that was taken from him.
D’Angelo goes on to say he needed to regroup after Darkstate
ruined his life. He had to set in a dark room but himself to
remember who he was, which is a National Champion and
Division I All-American. He also remembered he was good at
bouncing people off the mat.
D’Angelo talks about the mystic after his recent return,
where no one knows what he is doing. Tony calls this a
selfish time in a selfish business, and that aligns exactly
with his plans. He came back for two reasons. One reason is
he wanted Darkstate to know he was coming for them. This is
about punishment, not revenge. The second reason we will see
when he is done with Darkstate.
— “NXT Focus” is the sponsored personality profile where
Shiloh Hill takes about the championship ladder match that
headlines tonight’s card.
— WWE Speed Champion Jasper Troy cuts a promo on his
prospective challengers ahead of the upcoming tournament to
crown a top contender. No matter who wins, Troy vows to
destroy them in Atlanta.
Elio LeFleur vs. Charlie Dempsey in a first round match in
the Speed tournament
—
This was great for a three-minute match. The closing minute
was especially good with them trading counters and near
falls. LeFleur delivers a tilt-a-whirl Rocker Dropper, and
he hooks a leg to cover Dempsey for a three count with
seconds remaining in the time limit.
Match result: Elio LeFleur defeated Charlie Dempsey via
pinfall to advance in the Speed tournament.
— Kelly Kincaid interviews Joe Hendry, and he talks about
going into the ladder match with an injury. His smile has
been hiding frustration and disappointment because the last
seven months have been without a championship. Hendry goes
to vow he becomes the new NXT Champion.
— NXT’s presence in the Royal Rumble was the focus of a
video package.
The Elegance Brand (Heather by Elegance & M by Elegance with
Ash by Elegance & The Personal Concierge) vs. Sol Ruca &
Zaria for the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship
—
TNA authority figure Daria Rae (who is formerly Sonya
Deville in WWE) returns to NXT as she watches the title bout
near ringside.
The story of the match was dissension between Zaria and
Ruca. Zaria refuses to tag out, and they trade blind tags,
while also arguing and shoving each other. Their future is
in question, especially after the finish.
The match goes through a commercial break. Ash by Elegance
jumps on the apron to cause a distraction, which allows The
Elegance Brand to gain the upper hand as the show cuts to a
commercial break. When the show returns from the break, heat
on Zaria as she is worked over and separated from her
corner. Zaria comes back and refuses to tag out.
For some reason, Sean Legacy is seen getting ready in the
locker room ahead of the main event ladder match in a split-
screen in the middle of the match. Why?
Double down in the ring and Zaria uses the ropes to pull
herself to her feet, which allows Ruca to make a blind tag.
Ruca then runs wild and gets a few near falls. Meanwhile,
the studio audience is doing the wave.
Heather by Elegance with a moonsault press, and M by
Elegance goes for her own moonsault. No water in the pool,
though. Ruca rolled out of the way, and Ruca struggles to
her feet. Zaria makes a bling tag, leading to her and Ruca
getting into a shoving match.
The challengers argue as they both deliver stereo spears on
the champs. Ruca signals for their finisher, so Zaria hoists
M by Elegance on her shoulders. Ruca went to follow with a
Sol Snatcher, but M escapes their clutches. Ruca then
inadvertently catches her own partner, Zaria, with a Sol
Snatcher. Ash by Elegance pulls Ruca out of the ring and
sends her crashing into the ring steps.
Bow and arrow hold on Zaria by M as Heather leaps off the
top rope with a double foot stomp. Heather then covers Zaria
for the deciding pinfall.
Match result: Heather by Elegance & M by Elegance defeated
Sol Ruca & Zaria via pinfall when Heather covered Zaria to
retain their titles.
— NXT North American Champion Ethan Page cuts a promo where
he gives The Vanity Project a pep talk of sorts.
— In a skit from social media, Jaida Parker is attacked by
Blake Monroe at a merchandise booth outside the building.
Chase U (Kale Dixon & Uriah Connors with Andre Chase) vs.
Lexis King & Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo (with Arianna Grace)
—
Dixon & Connors got their time to shine, but this match was
more about getting King & Stacks over as a team. Dixon &
Connors looked great in the ring, but they drop the match to
the new heel team. Dixon fires up in the closing moments. He
goes for a moonsault off the top rope, but Stacks gets his
feet up to block it. King tags in and delivers a V-trigger,
and King follows with The Coronation. King pins Dixon to win
the match.
Connors backs away and apparently quite Chase U in an angle
after the match. He leaves Chase U and exits just behind the
heels.
Match result: Lexis King & Stacks defeated Kale Dixon &
Uriah Connors via pinfall when King pinned Dixon.
— The trio of Fatal Influence are in the ring for a promo
where NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne talks about her time
in the Royal Rumble. Jayne cuts a promo on Sol Ruca, who
eliminated Jayne in the Rumble match by tossing her out.
Jayne is cutting her promo on Ruca when she is interrupted
by Zaria.
Zaria gets in the ring to confront Jayne and Fatal
Influence. Zaria says Ruca had plenty of shots at the title,
and this was Zaria’s turn. They are all soon interrupted by
the team of Wren Sinclair & WWE Evolve Women’s Champion
Kendal Grey. Everyone is bickering in the ring when Sol Ruca
joins the ongoing argument.
Ruca makes a crack at Zaria about not being friends anymore,
and they briefly bicker. Eventually, out comes Robert Stone
for his first announcement and ruling as GM. In his first
act at interim GM, he books a tag match for next week with
Sinclair & Grey against Ruca & Zaria. Whomever scores the
winning fall also earns a title match against Jacy Jayne in
Atlanta.
— Kelly Kincaid interviews Kelani Jordan, who boasts about
breaking Lola Vice’s hand in an injury angle from earlier
tonight.
— Ricky Saints gets a full entrance before a commercial
break. Other participants for the ladder match get their
entrances during a split-screen as commercials run.
— After the commercial break is a skit where Lexis King,
Stacks and Grace approach Charlie Dempsey to ask if he
thought about their recent offer to join the new faction.
— Joe Hendry also gets a full entrance after the break.
Ricky Saints vs. Shiloh Hill vs. Sean Legacy vs. Jackson
Drake vs. Dion Lennox vs. Keanu Carver vs. Joe Hendry in a
ladder match for the vacant NXT Championship
—
Keanu Carver starts off strong, and ladders soon come into
play with several taking bumps on the ladder from the
opening moments onward.Many ladders of various sizes are set
up around ring for easy access.
Joe Hendry uses the ladder as a battering ram before he
spins around with it to do his pose. He tries to climb
towards the title belt hanging above the ring, only for
Hendry to get tripped up by Jackson Drake. Time for Drake’s
turn to take a bump off the ladder as Hendry tips it over.
Hendry then powerbombs Drake over the ropes into the arms of
the other participants on the floor. Hendry follows up by
hurdling the top rope for a dive outside the ring. The show
cuts to a commercial break with a slow motion replay of
Hendry’s hurdle over the ropes.
Carver rips a gimmicked ladders apart in a feat of strength
in the middle of the match. The ripped apart ladder would
play into another stunt moments later. Sean Legacy and Dion
Lennox get their chances to shine in spots after the show
returns from the break. They are fighting on a ladder when
Shiloh Hill uses the two sections of the gimmicked ladder as
a stilts. Hill would go on to take a Doomsday Device at the
hands of Carver and Lennox.
Lennox is climbing the ladder when Saints tries to stop him.
Saints takes a spinebuster on a ladder. Hendry thwarts
Lennox and give him a chokeslam on a ladder. Hendry climbs
and Drake again stops him. Legacy takes a wicked swanton
from Drake, and Drake climbs he ladder. Saints goes to stop
him, only for Carver to enter the ring and mow down Saints.
Carver stumbles over the ropes in a spot. Drake then does a
tornillo splash off the top turnbuckle to the floor, just
before the show cuts to its final commercial break. They
continue running through high spots during a split-screen.
After the show returns to full screen, Carver is using a
ladder to smash everyone. Hill leaps off the ring steps for
senton that sandwiches Carver in the ladder. In a bizarre
spot, Hill celebrates by taking out this false teeth and
throwing them on the ground, which apparently similar to a
Southern babyface pulling down the straps on is singlet.
Hill follows up with a running knee strike on Carver, and
Hill smashes him with the ladder. Everyone works together to
pile ladders on top of Carver. They bury Carver underneath
ladders. Hill does the Terry Funk spo of airplane spinning a
ladder in a crazed manner while other wrestlers bump into
the ladder. Hill eats a shining wizard from Drake, and Drake
builds a ladder bridge. That backfires on him as Legacy
springboards into a 450 splash that drives Drake into a
ladder.
Legacy and Lennox are fighting on one ladder when Hill sets
up a second ladder to climb. Hill and Drake climb the second
ladder. Hill and Drake takes bumps off the ladder, while
Lennox and Legacy remain on the other ladder. Legacy hangs
from the ladder like its Ultimate-X before taking a bump off
the ladder. Hendry breaks up Lennox’s climb with Lennox
fingertips away from the title belt.
Hendry and Lennox end up fighting outside the ring, where
Carver awakens from his slumber under the pile of ladders.
Carver mows down wrestlers with shots from the ladder and
spears on the floor. Carver sends Drake over the barricade
into the arms of plants in the front row. In another stunt,
Legacy is shoulder tackled through a gimmicked section of
wall by a charging Carver.
Ricky Saints rushes to climb a ladder in the ring as Carver
rushes back inside the squared circle. Two ladders are still
side-by-side from earlier in the match. Now, Carver and
Saints climb opposing ladders. They fight atop the ladders.
Saints kicks over the other ladder, and Carver takes a big
bump on a ladder bridged between the ring apron and the
broadcast booth. Carver crushes the ladder as Saints smirks
atop the ladder in the ring. Saints senses victory, only for
him to be surprised by Hendry shooting up the other side of
the ladder.
Saints and Hendry are fighting over the title belt as they
unhook from the hanger. Tug-of-war with the belt as he hangs
above ring. They each tease falling off the ladder until
Hendry lightly hits Saints with the belt, and Saints does a
Nestea Plunge off the standing ladder to a ladder bridge.
Nasty bump for Saints as his head snaps on the top rope as
he takes a hard bump on the ladder.
Hendry grabs the title belt, and new…
Match result: Joe Hendry wins a ladder match to capture the
NXT Championship
The Joe Hendry era of NXT has begun. He is your new champion
of the men’s division. All hail the king.